Thursday, May 29, 2014

Ironman Texas 2014 - By the Numbers

This post is mostly for my own future reference. I use this
type of post as a place to summarize some of the tactical aspects of a race so
that I can come back and read them later as I prepare for the next iteration of
a specific race, or for another, similar race.

Numbers by Discipline

First a quick look at the numbers across each of the three
sports. In this case I’m comparing
against others in my age group (AG) and for the record, my AG is 44-49. I have also included the data from last year
since I have it and since it provides another piece of data to evaluate
against.

Swim

2014

2013

My Swim

1:33:20

1:34:30

AG Average Swim

1:22:29

1:27:11

Wetsuit legal in ’14 only!

Difference (over AG)

0:10:51

0:07:19

My AG Swim Rank of 283 Starters

210

192

283 starters in 2013

Bike

2014

2013

My Bke

6:00:37

5:58:51

AG Average Bike

6:21:12

6:12:39

Very windy in ‘14

Difference (under AG)

0:20:35

0:13:48

My AG Bike Rank of 282 Swim Finishers

93

110

278 swim finishers in ‘13

Run

2014

2013

My Run

4:10:09

4:44:39

AG Average Run

5:23:12

5:36:18

Very hot & humid in ‘13

Difference (under AG)

1:13:03

0:51:39

My AG Run Rank of 278 Bike Finishers

27

44

266 bike finishers in ‘13

Overall

2014

2013

My Overall

12:01:26

12:36:00

AG Average Overall

13:26:10

13:35:24

Difference (under AG)

1:24:44

0:59:24

My AG Overall Rank of 260 AG Finishers

57

77

241 AG finishers in 2013

DNF % 2014 and 2013 (of AG starters)

8.13%

17.43%

Very hot & humid in ’13

So what are the take aways from this? Well, I would attribute
the faster swim, for the field, in 2014 to the fact that it was a wetsuit legal
swim this year. I did not wear a wetsuit, I bet on the fact that it would not
be wetsuit legal and I lost that bet. No big deal, I’m happy with my time
anyway.

As for the bike and the run, I think the averages show the
impact of the weather on the field. 2014 was quite windy and the wind was from
an unfavorable direction(?) and 2013 was exceedingly hot and humid.

The last interesting bit in this table is the DNF percentage
and I firmly believe that reflects how bad the weather was in 2013!

Next up is my position within the field after each sport and
the number of people I passed while biking and running. I’m a slow swimmer, so
I get to pass a lot of people on the bike, so I like this number. It really
does not mean anything else. I also like the "passed while running" number because
it reflects my execution. If I ride correctly, I will still have gas in the
tank for the run and if you are “running the run” in an Ironman then you are
probably passing people!

Position After

AG

Swim

210

Bike

124

Run

57

Overall

57

Passed While

AG

Biking

86

Running

67

These two charts reflect the relationship between bike and
run times. In each, the x axis is bike time and the y axis is run time. The lines are the average bike and run times.

2014 Bike vs. Run

The first chart is the data from 2014 only. I’m happy to once again be in the lower left, “fast and balanced” quadrant of the chart. Again, this is a reflection of performance (being faster than average) and also execution (not blowing up on the run because I biked too hard).

2013 vs 2014

The second chart is 2014 data vs. 2013 data. I included this
one because it helps me to understand the changes in my performance year over
year. Notice that the bike average line moved out (slower) and my point stayed
the same. I’m happy about that. Notice also that the 2014 run line dropped
(faster) but that my 2014 point dropped much further (much faster). I’m really
happy about that!

One of my big questions from last year was about goal
setting. Based on my 2013 bike and run I was wondering if my run goals were
realistic. Rev3 Cedar Point, last September, helped to answer that question and
this race did as well. I came to Texas thinking I could maybe go as low as 5:50
bike and 4:00 run if the weather and my day cooperated. Everything came together and I came pretty
close to those stretch goals.

Hydration and Nutrition

This is really dry information that I’m sure nobody but me
cares about, so you’ve been warned if you choose to keep reading…

Bike:

I carried two bottles of Skratch Labs Pineapples that I
mixed highly concentrated. The actual mix was 9 scoops in each 24oz bottle. I
also have a front bottle (32oz) with a straw that can be refilled while I’m
moving. My nutrition plan was to try and empty the front bottle prior to each
of the 10 aid stations and then refill the front bottle with ~24oz of cold
water and ~4.8oz of Pineapples concentrate. Along with the full front bottle at
the start, this worked out to 1600 calories

This model worked for me last year, although I did some of
the math wrong and thus was probably a little under where I wanted to be from a
sodium standpoint. This year it worked well also, although I had a little
trouble getting the right measure of concentrate and so I went through once
concentrate bottle a little faster than I had planned. I expect that I will
continue to follow this plan. Mixing concentrate and water on the bike is easy
and carrying two bottles behind my seat costs me very little in terms of weight
and wind resistance.

I also ate two gels per hour over the six hours that I was
on the bike for 1200 calories.

Total calories consumed on the bike – 2800

Run:

I used the same three bottle system on the run as well. The
two concentrate bottles had four scoops of Oranges in each 10oz bottle and I
started with 10oz of normal concentration Oranges in the front bottle. I worked
through one of the concentrate bottles along with the front bottle for a total
of ~74 ounces of Oranges (370 calories). At that point, I got tired of 1)
carrying the hand bottle and 2) mixing concentrate at every other aid station…
so I decided to switch over to perform, the on-course offering. I’m guessing,
but I figure I took two cups of perform each mile after I switched, so ~20 cups
of perform (700 calories).

I also ate four gels for another 400 calories. Thus
my run calorie consumption was ~1500.

Combined calories consumed ~4,300, which is ~1500 more than
last year.

I’m planning to totally rework my run nutrition for IMAZ so
that I don’t need to carry three bottles. I’m not sure yet, but I think I’ll
work toward a one bottle system, that is NOT hand carried, that I can refill
with straight perform as needed. This would allow me to drink between aid
stations without having to carry concentrate and multiple bottles. That’s the
plan for now anyway, so I’ll see how it goes.

So that’s everything I’ve got to download after a great
race. If you’re still reading, thanks
for sticking around. Please feel free to give me feedback! If you do something
differently or if you think something could be improved on, please leave me a
comment and let me know.